Rapid City, SD — Mitchell held on just long enough defensively on Friday night against one final Lincoln attempt. A loose ball ended in Colton Smith’s hands as he tip-toed the baseline and stayed in bounds.
The refs conferred and ruled the game over, as Mitchell won 61-59 over Sioux Falls Lincoln in the Class AA state semifinals on Friday. The Kernels will play in the state title on Saturday against the Yankton Bucks at 7:45 p.m. Mountain Time in Rapid City.
Senior forward Steele Morgan led Mitchell again in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting and added 11 rebounds.
Markus Talley shot 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3 and finished with 14 points. Dylan Soulek scored 10, and the freshman Smith chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.
JT Rock led Sioux Falls Lincoln 20 points but was held to 5-of-14 shooting. Rock was perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line.